Letters to the Editor: Lynbrook, East Rockaway (Jan. 18—24)

Posted
Thursday, January 18, 2018 11:51 am

Randi needs to reassess Trump

To the Editor:

It was refreshing, even for a short time, not to have columnist Randi Kreiss taking pot shots at President Trump. Some of her criticisms were deserved, but many were not. Now she’s back at it again with her jaundiced eye and tunnel vision.

I agree with many of her criticisms, but she seems to ignore or distort the reasons for the others. For example, Trump is not anti-Muslim; he’s anti-Islamic terrorist. Would Kreiss hold him accountable because so many current-day terrorists are Muslims who commit their egregious acts in the name of Allah? The president’s travel ban is directed at regions in which Islamic extremism is most active, not against Muslims per se.

Trump’s position on the Paris climate accord reflects, in part, his questioning of why China, perhaps the biggest polluter on Earth, would be granted deferrals in cutting its polluting ways for decades to come. In pulling out of the accord, Trump was only acting on his basic tenet of putting America first. What is Kreiss’s problem with that?

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was largely responsible for inviting Middle Eastern refugees into Europe — no questions asked. Most were undoubtedly legitimate refugees, but it would only take one terrorist secreted among them to bring death and destruction. Merkel was too openhearted and closed-minded. No wonder Trump has problems with her.

Some people equate late-term abortion with murder. If Kreiss does not, that’s her opinion. The rights of a woman should not include the right to kill her fully developed, unborn baby.

The Puerto Rican hurricane relief effort was hampered by the inaccessibility to much of the island’s population in mountainous regions by rudimentary roads. Would Kreiss blame Trump for this situation?

The pollution of our water has been happening for decades. The Flint, Mich., crisis, for example, began in 2014, while Barack Obama was in office. How could Trump clean up this mess in only his first year in office, when it was previously unaddressed?

Wouldn’t Kreiss agree that, under Obama, decades of progress in race relations deteriorated in places such as Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore, New York City and others, and that deterioration demonstrated how poorly Obama handled these situations? Why is Trump now blamed for these failures and their continuing consequences?

I assess Trump issue by issue. He is good in some areas, but very wanting in others. Kreiss would do well to assess him in a like manner, with her mind rather than through emotion. She now seems to have re-established her agenda, which blinds her to reality.

Robert Rubalsky, East Rockaway

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Thanks for the laughs, Randi

To the Editor,

I have never politically agreed with Randi Kreiss’s opinions in the Herald, but I will admit that I really enjoyed her column “Driving Miss Daisy is driving us crazy,” (Jan. 11-17). My wife and I can truly relate to that column, as we experienced some of the same assisted-living facility issues and drama with my wife’s father. It brought back thoughts of him, and a little laughter. Thanks for the memories.